


Surprise!

by Teyamarra



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24403471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teyamarra/pseuds/Teyamarra
Summary: “You. Are. The. Best. Boyfriend. Ever.” Penelope replied, punctuating each word with a kiss. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life…”Luke grinned, nodding, “Yes, you are. Now can we finish the movie?”Penelope gasped – pulling back from Luke, “Uh – you give a guy one compliment and he thinks he’s God’s gift to the world.”“Well of course I’m not God’s gift to the world, just yours.” Luke joked, receiving a pillow to the face for his efforts. “Oh, it’s so on!” Luke exclaimed, grabbing the nearest pillow. Penelope was a  little quicker than him, and safely dodged the first pillow, before standing up and running around the sofa.
Relationships: Luke Alvez/Penelope Garcia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 73





	Surprise!

**Author's Note:**

> I almost didn't post this, but it's been sitting my draft gathering dust. I won't get into my rant on why Penelope would never leave the BAU, but in my head she left for two weeks and came back asap. The BAU is family and as much as she hates the gore that she see's, she loves saving lives.
> 
> Let me know what you think and leave a kudos if you like it!
> 
> (p.s. part two of Primetime is taking a little longer to write than I thought, but I hope i'll have it done by later on today)

“Luke.”

Luke grunted in response, before taking another sip of his beer. He honestly couldn’t think of a better way to spend the evening. He had a cold beer, a good movie, and both of his girls. Life was great, which wasn’t always the case for him. His job caused a lot of stress, and it was rare that he was able to fully relax, but the last three weeks with Penelope had been everything that he’d hoped they’d been. It helped that they’d only had local cases so far, which meant that even though they weren’t working together anymore, they were able to spend a decent amount of time together.

“Do you miss it?” Penelope sat up, “The fugitive task force? Being a lone wolf, all undercover?”

Luke sat his beer down on the coffee table, if he was being honest with himself, he missed being undercover almost every day. Undercover work had helped him adjust after being discharged. He could become a new person with each case, and he never had to sit around and deal with his problems. It was easier than staying in one place and gaining connections, but it was also lonely. Part of him craved to be alone sometimes, but an even bigger part of him enjoyed the family he’d found within the B.A.U.

“Sometimes, but I love having something to come home to.” Luke responded, his eyes briefly flickering to meet Penelope’s, before training themselves back on the television.

Penelope nodded, allowing the room to go silent, beyond the sound of the television. That was fair enough. Penelope had been at her new job for almost a month now, and while she enjoyed it, something was missing. Luke must’ve picked up on his apprehension because he grabbed the remote and flicked off the TV. 

“Alright out with it.” Luke responded, pulling Penelope into his lap, “What’s up?”

Penelope shrugged, blowing out a frustrated sigh, “I don’t know. I’ve just been thinking about things.”

Luke’s finger’s ghosted over Penelope’s arm, causing a shiver to run straight through her spine. “Mhm, would this have anything to do with the new job? I know you’ve been having a rough time adjusting…”

Penelope through her arms around his neck, before making eye contact with him, “I know things are going to be different, I prepared for that, but I miss the work I used to do. I mean I know I’m still doing work for the greater good and I know that what I’m doing is important. It just doesn’t feel like enough.” Penelope sighed, “I dunno’. I probably sound ungrateful, because the job is great! Really, I mean I get weekends off, it’s a huge pay raise, and I get to leave the office at a decent time. People would literally kill for this job.”

“But…” Luke interjected, “It, just isn’t you?” He asked, a small smile gracing his lips.   
“God, I hate profilers. Why do you always have to know things?” Penelope pouted, “Does wanting to go back make me a weirdo? Is it sick that I miss it?”

Luke shook his head frivolously, “No, no. You worked there for over fifteen years, you saved lives for a majority of yours. It makes sense that you miss it.”

Penelope nodded, it was completely rational that she missed it, she just never thought she would. “You know, I never thought I’d miss it. I thought that as soon as I left, I’d feel different, lighter. When I first started all, I could dream about leaving, but now…”

“You’ve changed. You’re not the same woman that you were all those years ago. You’ve been through a lot and you’ve grown so much because of it.” Luke reassured her.

“I know that, really, I do. It’s just that I’ve always been a person to run away from danger, away from evil, and now I feel like running towards it.” Penelope shrugged, “Ignore me I’m just rambling. Going in circles.” 

Penelope rolled off of Luke’s lap, grabbing one of the couch pillows and pressing it firmly over her face. She was having an existential crisis, and her relationship with Luke was way too new for this conversation. 

“Hey, hey, hey. When I told you that I wanted to be the person you came to, I meant it. You can talk to me about anything.” Luke chastised, prying the pillow from Penelope’s fingers. He pulled her back towards him, tipping her chin towards him. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to save lives, which is what you did. Which is what I do, which is what the team does. Danger is just a pesky side effect.”

“You. Are. The. Best. Boyfriend. Ever.” Penelope replied, punctuating each word with a kiss. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life…”

Luke grinned, nodding, “Yes, you are. Now can we finish the movie?”

Penelope gasped – pulling back from Luke, “Uh – you give a guy one compliment and he thinks he’s God’s gift to the world.” 

“Well of course I’m not God’s gift to the world, just yours.” Luke joked, receiving a pillow to the face for his efforts. “Oh, it’s so on!” Luke exclaimed, grabbing the nearest pillow. Penelope was a little quicker than him, and safely dodged the first pillow, before standing up and running around the sofa. 

* * *

Penelope made it another week at her new job before she decided to set up a meeting with Cruz. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to go back, she just wanted to know it was an option. She’d heard from Luke that there had been a revolving door of techs since she left, but maybe Prentiss and Cruz were just considering their options. That thought was thoroughly crushed after her meeting with Cruz. None of the other techs had made it past two cases without practically begging to be reassigned, which meant if she wanted the job, it was there. 

Penelope couldn’t tell if that fact made her choice clearer or harder to make. She liked her new job, she had made some great friends, but her family was at the BAU. It didn’t help that she had to figure out how her relationship with Luke would fit into everything, which is why she’d made a deal with Cruz that if she chose to return, that she could continue her relationship with Luke. Now she just had to make a choice. 

* * *

  
“Garcia? What’re you doing here?” Prentiss asked, drawing the shorter woman into her arms.

“What? I can’t welcome my favorite people home? With…Cupcakes!” Garcia exclaimed, pulling back from Prentiss’s embrace and picking up the tray of red velvet cupcakes that she’d discarded on Luke’s desk.

“Oh, Bella, we’ve missed you so much.” Rossi replied, pressing a kiss into Penelope’s cheek before grabbing one of the cupcake’s.

“What Rossi said, it’s been a little dull without you.” Tara reached around Rossi and squeezed Penelope into a hug. 

“I don’t know – I mean my self-esteem has been doing pretty well ever since you left.” Luke joked, grabbing one of the cupcakes, “And not to look a gift horse into the mouth, but what’s the special occasion though?”

“Yeah – and where’s your visitor pass? Did Andersen sneak you in?” J.J. asked, licking icing off of her fingers.

“Why does there have to be a reason for me to come see my favorite team of crime fighters? And no, I did not sneak in…this time. I just don’t need a visitor’s pass anymore.” Penelope replied with a shrug, gaining a few questioning looks from the team.

A grin broke out across Matt’s face, “Does that mean what I think it means, Garcia?”

The room fell silent as the team awaited Penelope’s answer. They’d all missed her so much and none of the other techs had been even as half as competent as her. The past month had been hell for them, they’d truly underestimated Penelope’s job. Penelope’s job was so much more than hacking. She’d booked the hotel reservations, helped build the geographical profiles, and she’d scoped out the local law enforcement, so that there’d be no surprises for the team. With her gone, Emily had to take on those duties, and it wasn’t as easy as Garcia had made it out to be. 

“Well?” Emily pressed, getting her hopes up. The room burst into screams when Penelope nodded, immediately being tackled by her coworkers.

“What changed your mind? And why didn’t you tell us you were coming back?” Spencer asked, being the last one to release her from the group hug.

“Oh, I missed you guys so much, and I missed the work we did. I also didn’t want to say anything until everything was finalized, so when Cruz called me earlier to let me know I was reinstated, I decided to surprise you guys. Surprise!” Penelope explained, avoiding eye contact with Luke. She didn’t know how he’d react, and she definitely didn’t want to find out around the team.

“This is amazing, Garcia! When do you start?” Reid asked.

“I won’t be back full time for another two weeks. I put my notice in for my job today, but I’ll consult until I'm back full time.” Garcia explained.

“I guess we can deal with the other analysts for two weeks. As long as you promise never to leave again, at least until I retire for good. I don’t know how this job got done before you came.” Rossi replied, placing another kiss on Penelope’s cheek, “And for that – I am taking you and everyone else out for dinner and drinks on me!” 

“That sounds amazing, but unfortunately that’ll have to wait until we debrief, everyone to the round room.” Prentiss replied. The team let their disappointment be known before following in line after their boss.

“I’ll be there in a minute – I need to finish something up!” Luke called out, waiting until the team was out of sight to grab Penelope’s hand and interlock them with his.

“Are you upset? I know that I didn’t tell you, but I wasn’t even sure if it was going to happen.” Penelope asked.

“Nah I’m not mad, I’m glad you’re back. I just don’t know where that leaves us?” Luke shrugged sadly. He didn’t want to lose what they had, but he definitely didn’t want to lose his job.

“It leaves us exactly where we are. I wouldn’t have come back without making sure that we can be together without any consequences...” Penelope had a devilish glint in her eyes, which made Luke suspicious.

“Garcia…what did you do?” His voice is wary.

“Nothing bad!” Penelope assured him, “In six months, the current unit chief of cyber-crimes is going into retirement and the director wants me to take his place. I said yes under the condition that I could still work with the BAU, and that fraternization wouldn’t apply to us.”

A grin spread across Luke’s face, “What? That’s awesome! I’m so proud of you! That’s a big deal.”

“I know, I know! Thank you, I’m excited and a little bit overwhelmed, but I have six months to get settled back in here before I take command.” Penelope had been involuntarily freaking about the prospect of becoming a unit chief. It was a huge job, she would be in charge of dozens of techs, and if anything went wrong it would be on her.

“You know,” Luke squeezed Penelope’s hands, “They couldn’t have hired a better person for the job. So, what does this mean? Pay raise, larger office?”

Penelope nodded, “All of the above – plus an assistant. The only downside is the fact that they want me to start carrying a gun. All of the unit chiefs carry one.”

“Woah, you with a gun? That’s kind of hot. As long as you don’t accidentally shoot me.” Luke joked, slipping his hands to Penelope’s waist pulling her against him.

Penelope giggled, tipping her face towards Luke, “I think I can refrain from shooting you as long as you don’t annoy me too much.”

“But annoying you is my favorite pastime…” Luke replied, trailing off to capture Penelope’s lips. Later on, they’d set ground rules to keep all romance out of the office, but right now they wanted to enjoy the fact that for once in their lives, everything was good. They had amazing jobs, a wonderful family, and each other. 


End file.
